MEXICAN POLITICS AND PARTIES

Mexican System of Government: Federal Presidential Republic

The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a Federal Presidential Republic whose government is based on a Congressional system,
whereby the President of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The Federal government
represents the United Mexican States and is divided into the three Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches as established by the
Political Constitution of the United Mexican States published in 1817. The constituent states of the Federation are required to have a
Republican form of government based on a Congressional system as established by their respective constitutions.

The Executive power is exercised by an Executive branch headed by the President, who is advised by a Cabinet of Secretaries independent
of the Legislature. Legislative power is vested in the Congress of the Union, a two-chamber Legislature composed of the Senate and the
Chamber of Deputies. Judicial power is exercised by a Judiciary consisting of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the Council of
the Federal Judiciary, and the collegiate, unitary and district tribunals.

The politics of Mexico are dominated by three political parties:
National Action Party (PAN), the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), and Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).